Free Wi-Fi – Is it worth the risk?

Posted by ttblogger on 03/21 at 10:49 AM Permalink
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Since its inception in the early 2000s, Wireless-Fidelity Internet (Wi-Fi) has become virtually a staple in our technologically-enhanced lives.  Its convenience increases productivity in countless industries, academics and even the family home.  Retail establishments such as Panera Bread, McDonald’s and Barnes and Noble offer free Wi-Fi in their stores as an amenity to get customers to browse and buy their products.  While “free Wi-Fi” might seem like a no-brainer, customers should keep in mind the inherent risks of free Wi-Fi.

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    Posted by ellory  on  03/21  at  05:46 PM

  1. I’m appalled by the inaccuracies
    1. WEP can be cracked in seconds not hours
    2. WPA is secure, and cannot be cracked in any reasonable period of time (greater than years), let alone in the 15 minutes this article states
    3. Even in an unsecured network, SSL (https) traffic is secure
    4, The length of the password is irrelevant if the key is WEP (or unencrypted) and traffic is not SSL

    2. Posted by James  on  03/21  at  05:52 PM

  2. It is really frustrating to see when it is just thrown around that WPA and WPA2 are cracked.

    Where it can be cracked is when people use very poor choices for passwords. The technology has not been cracked. If you use “admin” or “password” for your encryption key, you should expect for it be easy to break into. Otherwise, they are not cracked, and are perfectly safe to use.

    This article needs to be amended to portray the real truth, and not for it’s sensationalism.

    3. Posted by Michael Hoyes  on  03/22  at  02:22 AM

  3. What about people setting up DHCP servers so that when you connect, all traffic goes to their computer as the router, or even serves up hacked sites for known bank sites?

    4. Posted by e-commerce software  on  03/22  at  03:03 AM

  4. Since Wi-Fi is the current trend to access internet connection,we shall be responsible or liable for it’s possible danger or risk for our personal information.I shall advice that make sure that you know that your files are protected and cannot be interrupted by the others.

    5. Posted by Alan  on  03/22  at  05:08 AM

  5. It seems to me that you are missing some important information here.  I thought that a random password of 8 or more characters, mixture of numbers and letters, uppercase and lower, is still uncrackable. Also, if you give your router id a password of any sort and encrypt using the newer encryption methods you’ll be a great deal safer.
    Please clarify.

    6. Posted by Mark T  on  03/22  at  10:00 AM

  6. Hi everyone, I found a link that can clarify the issue of Wi-Fi security. Hope this helps! grin

    @ Ellroy, James & Alan - This post gives details about how WPA & WPA2 can be compromised

    “...supports both WPA and the newer WPA2 encryption used in the majority of Wi-Fi networks, allowing breaking Wi-Fi protection quickly and efficiently...”

    http://hothardware.com/News/Russian-Firm-Uses-NVIDIA-GPUs-To-Crack-WPA-WPA2/

    7. Posted by anon  on  03/22  at  02:38 PM

  7. As noted by ellory, SSL is secure. That’s the whole point of using SSL.

    If network security is cracked, either WEP or WPA, the SSL connection is still secure with user names and passwords encrypted during transmission.

    8. Posted by Mrs. Dr PC  on  03/22  at  04:56 PM

  8. Thanks for a good article that I can use to try to “educate” our sales force, who constantly complain about the inconvenience of logging in thru the VPN!

    9. Posted by Red  on  03/27  at  05:35 AM

  9. To get a strong password go to http://www.grc.com/passwords.  Use this for your WPA password. The site has lots of other useful utilities. The owner, Steve Gibson also host a weekly podcast called Security Now also available on the website at http://www.grc.com/securitynow

    10. Posted by Salvync  on  04/01  at  07:27 AM

  10. Nice article, But I guess is a personal choice to use a wifi hot spot or not.  In my case I don’t have nothing important in my computer I just use it to surf the internet and stuff.  Of course I am not going to log to my bank account on a free wifi cafe.

    11. Posted by Miles  on  04/02  at  07:43 PM

  11. It’s not worth the risk if you depend on your wi-fi for business.

    But here’s the reality of the situation.

    You’ve got to understand something.

    The world is full of risks. Just walking down the street you can get hit by a bus. You can wake up tomorrow and your number will be posted on http://www.dirtyphonebook.com and ruin your life. You can be wrongfully charged with a crime.

    Somebody can also conceivably shut down your free wi-fi and shut it off when you need it. Or worse, report you to the authorities. But you know what? That’s just life.

    Life is risky. I think there’s nothing morally wrong with sharing and taking free wi-fi to a certain extent.

    12. Posted by peddu  on  04/15  at  03:20 PM

  12. Do you like finding free WiFi (also known as a wireless hotspot) access around town, on vacation… or anywhere else you can get it? Yes, me too. You know who else likes free WiFi internet access? Hackers.

    Why do they like it so much? They like it, because it’s easy to intercept others’ communications. Email, Facebook login information, Online Banking login information, etc.  You may have your computer protected from unauthorized access, but what you send over the wireless network at the local eatery may be wide-open for all to see… all hackers, that is.

    So, how do they do it? Most data thieves would use some sort of hacking programs and only need to be nearby the wireless hotspot to intercept the data being passed. Others might set up their own wireless network and either name it something similar to what the business is offering or just give it any old name and wait for someone who’s willing to use a wireless signal, no matter where it comes from.

    I would say we only need to ask businesses to encrypt their connection and give out individual access to each customer… but that’s not likely to happen. Most businesses that offer free WiFi access don’t choose to encrypt the signal, because it’s difficult to provide an ‘easy’ experience to everyone.

    So, what’s the solution?

    Well, it’s a big one and I don’t think many people are going to like it…

    Don’t use public WiFi internet access for ANYTHING that requires you to enter a user name and password and don’t purchase ANYTHING online while using a public wireless hotspot. That means avoid using your email too.

    Now, I know this will fall on deaf ears for many people.  The temptation provided by the convenience is just too great for most of us. But you at least need to be aware that your information can EASILY be captured.

    If you are going to test your luck, at the very least, make sure your computer security is turned on (personal firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware) and your file sharing is turned off. It won’t protect the data you send, but it may keep someone from access files directly on your wireless device. Also, make sure the wireless hotspot you connect to is the one actually being offered by the restaurant, hotel, etc.

    Here are a couple of other options that can keep you off of the typical public wireless hotspots.

    If you have a smart phone, try using that instead. Most can give you access to Online Banking and have Facebook apps.
    You may also want to consider using mobile internet access provided by your cell phone provider. 3G and 4G (WiMax), while not inexpensive yet, provide decent to great internet speeds and also provide protected access.
    If you’re staying in a hotel with internet access, try to use an Ethernet cable instead of wireless access.
    Ok, so now that you know it’s risky to use public wireless access, who’s going to heed the warning? Anyone?

    Regards
    Peddu
    hostcats.com

    13. Page 1 of 1 pages

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